A pastoral letter by St Charles Borromeo The season of Advent Beloved, now is the acceptable time spoken of by the Spirit, the day of salvation, peace and reconciliation: the great season of Advent. This is the time eagerly awaited by the patriarchs and prophets, the time that holy Simeon rejoiced at last to see. This is the season that the Church …

The First Sunday of Advent – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff On the First Sunday of Advent, Msgr. Esseff shares two deeply moving testimonies that reveal the power of love, faith, and the kingship of Christ. The first story follows a Christian couple who defied medical advice to abort their “defective” child, trusting instead in G…

AR#1 – Advent Reflections with Deacon James Keating, Ph.D. One of God’s attributes is patience. He suffers His own creation, as it comes to fulfillment in His love. The God that we worship is a God who truly loves us. And in this great love, He waits. He waits for us to respond to all that He has given us. And He doesn’t simply wait in a passive wa…

A Year of Daily Offerings by Fr. James Kubicki, S.J. on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor In this episode of “Inside the Pages”, Fr. James Kubicki discusses his book, A Year of Daily Offerings: Giving Your Life to God One Day at a Time, which encourages believers to begin each day with a prayer of offering and reflect on how to live out the Eucha…

A Novena to the Immaculate Conception – Day 4 O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son, we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain, so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession, to come unto You. Thr…

Caryll Houselander image used with permission from TRINITY ICONS Day 2: The Gift of Christ in Each Other “I saw that it is the will of Christ’s love to be put into the hands of sinners, to trust Himself to men, that He may be their gift to one another that they may comfort Him in each other, give Him to each other. In this sense the ordinary life i…

Monday of the 1st Week of Advent – An Advent Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly. For at least the next few moments, surrender all the cares and concerns of this day to the Lord. Say slowly from your heart “Jesus, I Trust In You…You Take Over” Become aware that He is with you, looking upon you w…

The First Sunday of Advent – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff On the First Sunday of Advent, Msgr. Esseff shares two deeply moving testimonies that reveal the power of love, faith, and the kingship of Christ. The first story follows a Christian couple who defied medical advice to abort their “defective” child, trusting instead in G…

AR#1 – Advent Reflections with Deacon James Keating, Ph.D. One of God’s attributes is patience. He suffers His own creation, as it comes to fulfillment in His love. The God that we worship is a God who truly loves us. And in this great love, He waits. He waits for us to respond to all that He has given us. And He doesn’t simply wait in a passive wa…

Sunday of the 1st Week of Advent – An Advent Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly. For at least the next few moments, surrender all the cares and concerns o…

A Novena to the Immaculate Conception – Day 3 O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son, we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain, so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession, to come unto You. Thr…

Caryll Houselander image used with permission from TRINITY ICONS Day 1: Christ’s Dependence and Our Advent “By his own will Christ was dependent on Mary during Advent: he was absolutely helpless; he could go nowhere but where she chose to take him; he could not speak; her breathing was his breath; his heart beat in the beating of her heart…. In the…

St Cyril of Jerusalem The twofold coming of Christ We do not preach only one coming of Christ, but a second as well, much more glorious than the first. The first coming was marked by patience; the second will bring the crown of a divine kingdom. In general, whatever relates to our Lord Jesus Christ has two aspects. There is a birth from God before …

Day 2 – Novena to the Immaculate Conception O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son, we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death o…

The Feast of St. Andrew – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly. For at least the next few moments, surrender all the cares and concerns of this day to the Lord. Say slowly from your heart “Jesus, I Trust In You…You Take Over” Become aware that He is with you, looking upon you wi…

Day 1 – Novena to the Immaculate Conception Recite the following prayer for nine days from November 29 – December 7 (or at a minimum on the first and ninth days of the novena). Prayer to be said each day of the Novena O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son, we beseech You…

Friday of the Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly. For at least the next few moments, surrender all…

Thanksgiving: Cultivating a Spirit of Gratitude – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff Msgr. Esseff reflects on the centrality of gratitude in the spiritual life on Thanksgiving (in the United States), using the Gospel of Luke’s story of the ten lepers and the one Samaritan leper who returned to thank Jesus. This act of gratitude not o…

Thursday of the Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly. For at least the next few moments, surrender a…